Thursday, June 19, 2014

I received hundreds of birthday greetings on social media today. At most, I'd met less than ten of these people in real life. I tried to think if I'd seen any of them during the past year and could only come up with a single name: a guy I accidentally bumped into a few months ago at a guitar show. That's the way it is these days. Facebook has become the new neighborhood. Real life is kind of a wasteland. I was delighted to hear from everybody, whether I'd met them of not. Among the strangers who wished me a happy birthday were dedicated people all over the world who do their best to rescue and care for abandoned Dalmatians. There were fellow bloggers, who just like me, continue to tell their stories to a world where fewer and fewer people read. There were people who like wristwatches and probably a few like you, who just like to read this blog. I'm glad I heard from all of you. You keep me connected.

I got an e-mail early this morning from a neighbor up the street, asking me if I knew anyone who had lost a Weimaraner puppy. I haven't seen anyone walking a Weimaraner in the park for a long time, but I sent the lady all the information I had about reuniting lost dogs with their owners. If you find a lost dog without any identification, I hope you check to see if it has been microchipped first. If the dog has been chipped, this is definitely the easiest way to find the owner. When I left to go to the gym later in the day, I happened to see a "Lost Puppy" sign stapled to a telephone pole. I stopped the car and went over to look at the sign. Sure enough, the lost dog was a Weimaraner puppy that matched the description in the e-mail exactly. I called the number on the sign and left a message saying that I thought I knew where the puppy was. When the dog's owner called back a few hours later, she said the puppy had already been found and returned. Evidently there were lots of "Lost Puppy" signs and one of them had been seen by a friend of the lady who'd sent me the e-mail. My neighbors might not agree about politics, or even about what goes on in the park, but they do agree about dogs. I'm lucky to live in a very dog friendly neighborhood.

I didn't stay at the gym very long today. The gym was crowded and Dot had already made me feel guilty for leaving by barking up a storm as I was preparing to leave. I was also worried about the lost dog and wanted to check and see if the dog and its owner had been reunited. There was nothing to worry about. Dot was sleeping soundly when I returned and the Weimaraner puppy was already home again.

When I was walking the dogs this evening, we almost stepped on a huge snake. I need to get better at identifying these neighborhood snakes. Some are harmless and others are poisonous. It would be good to know which was which. In the mean time, we're going to avoid the shoreline and native prairie areas where most of the snakes seem to live. There are also lots of large hawks and owls in these areas. Maybe they'll eat the snakes.

We had Sprinkles cupcakes when Janet got home from work. These tasty little cupcakes have become somewhat of a birthday tradition. At a certain point we discovered that a big birthday cake was too much for two people. These large, heavily frosted cakes just took up space in the refrigerator and eventually got stale. Cupcakes are much better. It was a subdued birthday, but a nice one. I look forward to celebrating a few more.

2 comments:

Yes, John, even though we've never met in person, I feel richer for knowing you. Glad you had a few treats, and helping to return the puppy had to be fulfilling. Many, many of my good friends are on-line, and they don't seem less real to me.

Sorry I missed giving you birthday greetings, John. Sounds like you had a quiet but enjoyable time, anyway. Hope you do have lots more to look forward to. I love reading your blog, though I don't manage to visit every day and have to catch up like today. Please keep on posting.

About Me

John Sealander received a Bachelor of Architecture and a BA in Art from
The University of Arkansas. His rich and diverse experience includes
working as an architectural designer for Fred Bassetti in Seattle,
producing documentary films for PBS, shooting commercial photography
for True Redd’s “Great Shooting Gallery” in Dallas and teaching writing
courses at SMU’s Academy of Visual Communication. For over 35 years,
John has developed memorable and award winning ads and images for some
of the world’s leading ad agencies and most popular brands. In 1990 he
started Sealander & Company, the Dallas, Texas based production
company and multi-media agency where he continues to develop his ideas
today.